Colonel Wolseley had about thirty men killed. He observed, in his public despatch, 'Our men showed on this, as on former occasions, a very great forwardness to engage the enemy, notwithstanding the inequality of their numbers, and gave new proofs of their courage and bravery, particularly Major-General Kirke's men[9].' After destroying the stores and ammunition which they were unable to remove, the detachment returned to its quarters; and the enemy, having discovered the resolute character of the troops in Belturbet, laid aside the design of attacking them.
On the night of the 4th of March, a detachment of Inniskilling cavalry, with fifty men of Colonel Erle's regiment, scoured the country to the vicinity of Cavan; and on the following morning attacked and carried a fortified post at Butler's bridge, killing twenty men and taking sixteen prisoners; then joining another detachment, drove a body of the enemy from the houses of Cavan, and completed the destruction of the town.
Provisions becoming scarce at Belturbet, Colonel Wolseley sent out two hundred Inniskilling horse and dragoons, who scoured the country beyond Cavan and captured a thousand head of cattle. Returning with their booty, they found four hundred of the enemy formed up at the river to oppose their passage; undaunted by superior numbers, the Inniskilling troopers rushed, sword in hand, upon their antagonists, and a few moments' conflict decided the fortune of the day; forty of King James's soldiers lay dead on the field, eight were taken prisoners, and the remainder escaped; the Inniskilling men proceeded with their booty to Belturbet.
On the 6th of April another detachment of seven hundred men, from the regiments of Kirke, Erle, and Groven's Danes, with a party of Inniskilling horse and dragoons, advanced from Belturbet to the castle of Killeshandra, which they besieged and captured after a slight resistance; and in May a detachment of Cunningham's Inniskilling dragoons was engaged in the capture of the castle of Ballinacargy. Thus these gallant horsemen succeeded in every enterprise in which they were engaged, their fame spread to distant parts, and they were a terror to their adversaries. They ventured on the most dangerous undertakings, and a detachment scoured the country to Kells, within twenty-seven miles of Dublin, and returned with a supply of cattle and provisions.
In June, King William arrived in Ireland, accompanied by Prince George of Denmark, and a number of noblemen; the eyes of all Europe were fixed on that country, where two kings were to contend for a crown on a public theatre, and the singular spectacle was exhibited of two princes (the Prince of Orange and the Prince of Denmark) fighting against the father of their wives (King James), and of a nephew at the head of an army against his uncle; it was, however, a contest between liberty and slavery,—between constitutional freedom and despotism. King William headed his army of English, Dutch, Brandenburgers, Danes, and French; and King James took up a position behind the river Boyne, with his own forces, and six thousand French and Swiss troops, furnished by Louis XIV.
On the 1st of July a general engagement took place, when the Inniskilling dragoons had the honour of distinguishing themselves under the eye of their sovereign. On this occasion, the right wing of the English army, under the Count de Schomberg, and the centre under the Duke Schomberg, had forced the passage of the river, and were engaged, when King William drew his sword, and placing himself at the head of four troops of the Inniskilling cavalry, told them, that having heard a great deal of their bravery, he had no doubt of witnessing it, and he led them towards the river, followed by several other corps of cavalry and infantry. The four captains requested His Majesty not to expose his person by crossing the river within shot of the enemy, but his reply was, "I will see you over." When in the middle of the stream, a volley from a regiment of the enemy's dragoons brought down one man, killed Captain Blashford's horse, and one bullet struck one of His Majesty's pistols[10]. Arriving on the opposite bank, the King threw off the bandage from his shoulder, which had been wounded on the preceding day, and brandishing his sword, led the Inniskilling men, and other troops which had passed the river with him, against a body of King James's soldiers, three times more numerous than themselves, who were advancing towards him with fury. Intimidated by the dauntless bearing of the soldiers with King William, the enemy halted, faced about, and fled towards Donore; and the Inniskilling cavalry rushed forward, sword in hand, with great intrepidity. The other corps which had followed His Majesty, pursued the enemy as far as Donore, where they were charged by superior numbers, and forced back. The King again placed himself at the head of the brave Inniskilling soldiers, and while leading them forward, sustained a volley of musketry, from which several men and horses fell; he then turned to his left to enable his men to charge; this was mistaken for a signal for them also to wheel to the left, and they fell back a short distance; but quickly discovering their error, they confronted their adversaries, and dashing forward with distinguished gallantry, overthrew the opposing ranks. The battle exhibited all the horrors of civil war; English fought with English, Irish with Irish, and French against French; at the same time Dutch, Danes, Swiss, and Brandenburgers were mingled in the fray,—the colours and standards of various nations floating over the scene of combat. The Duke of Berwick's horse was killed, and he was trampled upon by the combatants. King William was in the hottest of the fight, encouraging his men, and the Inniskilling dragoons were seen bravely contending for the victory.
Scarcely had Sir Albert Cunningham's dragoons (now Sixth) reformed their ranks after the charge, when General de Ginkell, and a party of Dutch dragoons, were seen retreating in disorder along a narrow lane, followed by crowds of the enemy, shouting and brandishing their swords; part of the Inniskilling regiment instantly dismounted, also a detachment of Leveson's (now Third) dragoons, and throwing themselves into an old house, and lining the hedge of the lane, opened such a brisk fire, that the pursuing Irish faced about and fled. The cavalry returned to the charge; the adverse army sustained a decisive overthrow, and fled from the field. Story observes of this action, "Those of our English forces that were engaged, and had opportunity to show themselves, gave signal demonstrations of their courage and bravery; the Inniskilliners and French (protestants in King William's service), both horse and foot, did good service; and the Dutch guards deserve no small honour for their conduct on that day[11]."
No return of the loss of the regiment on this occasion has been met with; but at the muster at Finglas, seven days after the battle, it brought three hundred private dragoons into the field, which is nearly one hundred less than the establishment.
King James fled to Dublin, and immediately afterwards embarked for France; and King William, directing his march to the capital, gained possession of that city without loss. After this success, the Sixth dragoons formed part of a body of troops detached under Lieutenant-General Douglas against Athlone. Arriving before the town, a summons to surrender was sent to the governor, the veteran Colonel Grace, who fired a pistol at the messenger and declared his determination to defend the place. Not having artillery and ammunition sufficient to prosecute the siege, the troops withdrew from before the town, and rejoined the army.
The regiment was subsequently employed before Limerick, which city was besieged by the English army. On the 11th of August, as the regiment lay encamped near Limerick, information arrived of the destruction of the battering train on its march to join the army by a numerous body of Irish cavalry under Brigadier-General Sarsfield (formerly an officer of the English life guards); Sir Albert Cunningham instantly issued from the camp with two squadrons of his dragoons, and dashing across the country, intercepted one of the enemy's detachments, which he charged with signal gallantry, slew one major, one captain, and twenty men; but their main body escaped.